He said the borough's crime problems are similar to those in Merseyside towns like Huyton rather than more affluent areas of Cheshire, to which Halton is often seen as 'the poor relative.'

'What might be a priority for Congleton and Macclesfield may not be appropriate for industrial towns like Runcorn and Widnes,' he said.

'We must see whether we are getting our fair share of provisions within Cheshire because they seem to be better as part of Merseyside.'

But Supt Clive Pownall from Halton Division denied his officers were only interested in motoring offences.

'Our priorities are burglary from dwellings, vehicle crime, public reassurance and Class A drug dealing,' he said.

'I hope the community see the positive results we have had in these areas - we have met a target of a 23% burglary from dwellings detection rate and vehicle crime and violent crime have also seen improved detection rates.'

But Cllr Pat Tyrrell said his constituents have lost faith in their police service and have 'given up' reporting crimes.

'I've expressed concern about policing in Halton for a long time,' he said.

'I think they're very poor on response times and when I speak to people in Castlefields they say they don't report crimes because it's a waste of time.'

'I don't know enough about policing in Merseyside to say we want that instead, but it is our duty to make sure Halton people get the best service available.'

Now Cllr McDermott is hoping to meet Cheshire Police Authority to decide the way forward.

'I still believe there is cause to talk about the possibility of changing to Merseyside,' he said.

'I can't be totally sure changing to Merseyside would be better, because we haven't been able to discuss it with Cheshire police, but the anecdotal evidence suggests it would be more appropriate.'

Cllr Tyrrell added: 'We need more resources on the beat so that people in Halton can see there is a police service who will be there when they are needed.'